Vehicle outside mirror device

ABSTRACT

An outside mirror device for a vehicle includes a mirror assembly that is rotatably attached to a body of the vehicle through an electric retracting unit and a base. The electric retracting unit includes bearing portions at both ends of a first stage gear of a rotational force transmitting mechanism. The bearing portions are supported by bearing holes in the bearing member as a single member, respectively.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to and incorporates by referencethe entire contents of Japanese priority document, 2006-273094 filed inJapan on Oct. 4, 2006.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a vehicle outside mirror device.

2. Description of the Related Art

A conventional vehicle outside mirror device, such as the one disclosedin Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-182117, includes amirror assembly, a motor, a worm gear, and a bearing member. The wormgear is a first stage gear in a rotational force transmitting mechanismand is coupled to the motor. The bearing member includes two separatebearing members that rotatably support both ends of the worm gear,respectively. The worm gear is rotated by driving the motor, which leadsto the rotation of the mirror assembly.

However, in the conventional vehicle outside mirror device, because theboth ends of the worm gear are supported by the separate bearingmembers, respectively, an axial runout and an inclination of the wormgear may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to at least partially solve theproblems in the conventional technology.

An outside mirror device for a vehicle, according to one aspect of thepresent invention, includes a mirror assembly that is rotatably attachedto a body of the vehicle through an electric retracting unit and a base.The electric retracting unit includes a shaft holder that is fixed tothe base, a shaft that is provided on the shaft holder, a casing towhich the mirror assembly is attached, which is rotatably attached tothe shaft, a motor that outputs a rotational force, a rotational forcetransmitting mechanism that transmits the rotational force to the mirrorassembly, and a bearing member that rotatably supports a first stagegear of the rotational force transmitting mechanism coupled to a shaftof the motor. The first stage gear includes a gear portion having afitting hole at a first end thereof, a pin that is fitted into thefitting hole, and a shaft portion provided at a second end of the gearportion. The bearing member includes bearing holes that support theshaft portion and the pin, respectively. The casing includes a pinretaining portion that prevents the pin from coming off.

The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical andindustrial significance of this invention will be better understood byreading the following detailed description of presently preferredembodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle outside mirror deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an electric retracting unitshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross section of the electric retracting unit;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross section of the electric retracting unit;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of a gear case of the electric retracting unit;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the electric retracting unit with a coverremoved;

FIG. 7 is a perspective bottom view of a plate that functions as abearing member shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process of inserting agear shaft of a motor into a coupling hole in a first worm gear;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process of assembling themotor and the first worm gear to the plate;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process of assembling asub-assembly, in which the plate, the motor, and the first worm gearwith the pin are assembled, to a gear case, and a process of fixing afixing plate to the gear case;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining a state where thesub-assembly shown in FIG. 10 and the fixing plate are housed in ahousing formed by the gear case and the cover;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process of assemblingthe motor and a helical gear to the plate;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process of assembling asub-assembly, in which the plate, the motor, and the helical gear areassembled, to the gear case, a process of coupling a second worm gear tothe helical gear, and a process of fixing the fixing plate to the gearcase; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram for explaining a state where thesub-assembly shown in FIG. 13, the second worm gear, and the fixingplate are housed in the housing formed by the gear case and the cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are explained in detailbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electric retractable door mirrordevice (hereinafter, “a door mirror device”) 1 that is a vehicle outsidemirror device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thedoor mirror device 1 is mounted on each of a driver side (right side)door (not shown) and a passenger side (left side) door (not shown) of avehicle. The door mirror device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on theright door. A door mirror device mounted on the left side door has aconfiguration substantially symmetric to the door mirror device 1.

As shown in FIG. 1; the door mirror device 1 including a mirror assembly2 is rotatably attached to a vehicle body (e.g., a door) (not shown) viaan electric retracting unit 3 and a base 4 that is fixed to the door.

The mirror assembly 2 includes a mirror housing 5, an attachment bracket6, a driving unit 7, and a mirror unit 8. The attachment bracket 6 isattached to the inside of the mirror housing 5, and the driving unit 7is attached to the attachment bracket 6. The mirror unit 8 is attachedto the driving unit 7 so that the mirror unit 8 inclined in the verticaland horizontal directions.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electric retracting unit 3 includes ashaft holder 9, a shaft 10, a gear case 11, a cover 12, a motor 13, adeceleration mechanism 14, a clutch mechanism 15, a plate 16, and afixing plate 17.

The gear case 11 and the cover 12 serve as a casing, and thedeceleration mechanism 14 and the clutch mechanism 15 serve as arotational force transmitting mechanism.

The shaft holder 9 is fixed to the base 4, and the shaft 10 isintegrally provided to the shaft holder 9. The shaft 10 is formed in ahollow, and a harness (not shown) is inserted through the hollow. Thegear case 11 and the cover 12 are rotatably attached to the shaft 10.The attachment bracket 6 is attached to the gear case 11. The motor 13,the deceleration mechanism 14, the clutch mechanism 15, the plate 16,and the fixing plate 17 are housed in a housing 18 formed by the gearcase 11 and the cover 12.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, 10, 11, 13, and 14, the gear case 11 is closedon the lower side (the side of the shaft holder 9) and is open on theupper side (the side of the cover 12) to form a concave shape insection. An insertion hole 19 is formed in the closed portion of thegear case 11, into which the shaft 10 is inserted. With thisconfiguration, the gear case 11 is rotatably attached to the shaft 10.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a circular guide projection 20 and anarc-shaped stopper projection 21 are integrally provided on the uppersurface of the shaft holder 9. The arc-shaped stopper projection 21 ispositioned outside the guide projection 20. The stopper projection 21has stopper surfaces 22 on both ends. In FIG. 2, only one stoppersurface 22 is shown. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a circular guide groove23 and an arc-shaped guide groove 24 are provided on the lower surfaceof the gear case 11. The guide groove 24 is positioned outside the guidegroove 23 and has a width wider than that of the guide groove 23.Stopper surfaces 25 are provided at step portions formed between theguide grooves 23 and 24. The guide projection 20, the stopper projection21, the guide groove 23, and the guide groove 24 are arranged around theshaft 10 in a concentric pattern.

The guide projection 20 and the stopper projection 21 on the shaftholder 9 are engaged with the guide groove 23 and the guide groove 24 ofthe gear case 11, respectively. When the mirror assembly 2 rotates withrespect to the base 4, i.e., when the gear case 11 rotates with respectto the shaft holder 9, the guide grooves 23 and 24, the guide projection20, and the stopper projection 21 function as a guide for the rotationof the gear case 11.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the mirror assembly 2 rotates forward(counterclockwise) or backward (clockwise) from a normal position C foruse in driving a vehicle to get to a mirror position A in which themirror assembly 2 is inclined forward or a mirror position B in whichthe mirror assembly 2 is retracted, the stopper surface 25 comes intocontact with the stopper surface 22 of the stopper projection 21. Thus,the rotation of the mirror assembly 2 is restricted, so that the mirrorassembly 2 does not hit the vehicle body.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, and 11, the cover 12 is closed on theupper side and is open on the lower side (the side of the gear case 11)to form an inverted concave shape in section. A harness-throughcylindrical portion 26 that communicates with the shaft 10 is integrallyprovided to the cover 12. The cover 12 is fitted and fixed to theoutside edge of the opening of the gear case 11.

The motor 13, the deceleration mechanism 14, the clutch mechanism 15,the plate 16, the fixing plate 17, and a substrate 27 are housed in thehousing 18. The substrate 27 is attached to the plate 16, and a switchcircuit (not shown), which controls the motor 13, is mounted on thesubstrate 27.

An insertion hole 39 is formed in the cover 12 so that the shaft 10 isinserted through the insertion hole 39 to reach the harness-throughcylindrical portion 26. With this configuration, the cover 12 isrotatably attached to the shaft 10 together with the gear case 11.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, 6, 7, and 10, the deceleration mechanism14-and the clutch mechanism 15 that function as the rotational forcetransmitting mechanism are housed in the housing 18 so that they arearranged between a gear shaft 28 of the motor 13 and the shaft 10. Thedeceleration mechanism 14 and the clutch mechanism 15 transmit arotation force of the motor 13 to the shaft 10. In other words, themotor 13, the deceleration mechanism 14, and the clutch mechanism 15rotate the mirror assembly 2 with respect to the shaft 10.

The deceleration mechanism 14 includes a first worm gear 29 as a firststage gear, a helical gear 30 as a second stage gear meshing with thefirst worm gear 29, a second worm gear 31 as a third stage gear, and aclutch gear 32 as a final stage gear meshing with the second worm gear31.

The first worm gear 29 is rotatably supported by the plate 16 through apin 33. The first worm gear 29 is coupled to the gear shaft 28. Thehelical gear 30 is rotatably supported by the plate 16. The second wormgear 31 is rotatably supported by the gear case 11 and the fixing plate17. The fixing plate 17 is fixed to the gear case 11 with a screw 34.The helical gear 30 and the second worm gear 31 are coupled to beintegrally rotatable.

The clutch mechanism 15 includes the clutch gear 32, a clutch holder 35,a spring 36, a push nut 37, and a washer 38. The clutch mechanism 15 isformed by sequentially fitting the washer 38, the clutch holder 35, theclutch gear 32, and the spring 36 over the shaft 10, and fixing the pushnut 37 to the shaft 10. The spring 36 is in a compressed state. Theclutch gear 32 and the clutch holder 35 are intermittently coupled toeach other. The second worm gear 31 meshes with the clutch gear 32, sothat a rotational force of the motor 13 is transmitted to the shaft 10.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, and 8 to 11, the first worm gear 29 includesthe pin 33 serving as a shaft, a gear portion 63, and a shaft portion 42that is integrally provided to one end of the gear portion 63. Acoupling hole 43 is formed in the shaft portion 42 to extend from oneend surface of the gear portion 63 in an axis direction. The couplinghole 43 has a butterfly-like shape in cross section in a directionperpendicular to the axis direction of the gear portion 63. The gearshaft 28 has a flat plate shape. As shown in FIG. 8, the gear shaft 28is inserted into the coupling hole 43 in the shaft portion 42, so thatthe gear shaft 28 is coupled to the gear portion 63.

A circular fitting hole 44 is formed in the other end of the gearportion 63 to extend in the axis direction. Because the pin 33 has asimple shape, i.e., the pin 33 is a round bar with both endshemispherically shaped, the pin 33 is manufactured at low cost. The pin33 is fitted into the fitting hole 44 to the degree that the pin 33 doesnot come off easily from the fitting hole 44 in view of a sub-assemblystructure. The pin 33 can be fitted into the fitting hole 44 moreloosely or more tightly.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, and 12 to 14, the helical gear 30 includes agear portion 64 and shaft portions 45. The shaft portions 45 are formedintegrally with both ends of the gear portion 64 via step portions 46. Acircular coupling hole 47 is formed in the helical gear 30 to penetratetherethrough in an axis direction. The inner surface in the middle ofthe coupling hole 47 forms two non-curved surfaces 65. The surfaces 65are, for example, flat surfaces substantially parallel to each other.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, 13, and 14, the second worm gear 31 includes ashaft portion 48 and a gear portion 66 that is provided at one end ofthe shaft portion 48. The shaft portion 48 and the gear portion 66 areintegrated. A spherical projection 67 is integrally provided on each endof the second worm gear 31. The outer surface at the other end of theshaft portion 48 includes two non-curved surfaces 68. The surfaces 68are, for example, flat surfaces substantially parallel to each other.The shaft portion 48 is inserted into the coupling hole 47, so that theshaft portion 48 and the coupling hole 47 are coupled to each other suchthat the shaft portion 48 can move in the axis direction and cannotrotate freely due to the fitting of the surfaces 65 and 68.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 6, 7, 9 to 14, the plate 16 has a substantiallyflat plate-like shape and closes the opening of the gear case 11. Theplate 16 integrally includes a motor housing portion 49, a partitionplate 69, a first worm gear housing portion 50, a substrate attachingportion 55, and elastic holding portions 56. The motor housing portion49 is provided on one side (upper side) of the partition plate 69, andthe first worm gear housing portion 50 is provided on the other side(lower side) of the partition plate 69. The substrate 27 is attached tothe substrate attaching portion 55. A bearing hole 52 is formed in thepartition plate 69, which is provided between the motor housing portion49 and the first worm gear housing portion 50, for rotatably supportingthe shaft portion 42. The first worm gear housing portion 50 integrallyincludes elastic plates 51 and a lower wall (bottom wall) 70. A bearinghole 53 for rotatably supporting the pin 33 is formed in the lower wall70. Bearing holes 54 for supporting the shaft portions 45 are formed inthe elastic plates 51, respectively. The motor 13, the first worm gear29, the helical gear 30, and the plate 16 are sub-assembled.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 6, 10, 11, 13, and 14, the fixing plate 17 is amember different from the plate 16. The fixing plate 17 includes radialbearing portions 57 on the side opposing the gear case 11. The fixingplate 17 is fixed to the gear case 11 with the screw 34, so that theradial bearing portions 57 support both ends of the second worm gear 31together with the gear case 11. In other words, the radial bearingportions 57 and the gear case 11 suppress the radial force (the force ina radial direction) on both ends of the shaft portion 48 to stabilizethe second worm gear 31.

As shown in FIGS. 10, 11, 13, and 14, the gear case 11 is provided witha concave portion 40 in which the first worm gear housing portion 50 ishoused.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a pin retaining portion 58 is provided atthe bottom of the concave portion 40. Furthermore, a hole 41 is formedin the gear case 11. Upon fixing the fixing plate 17 to the gear case 11with the screw 34, the screw 34 is screwed into the hole 41.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, grooves 59 are formed on the bottom of theconcave portion 40. The elastic plates 51 of the plate 16 are insertedinto the grooves 59. The gear case 11 includes thrust bearing portions60. The thrust bearing portions 60 receive the thrust force (the forcein a thrust direction) acting on the spherical projections 67.Furthermore, the gear case 11 includes radial bearing portions 61. Theradial bearing portions 61 receive the radial force acting on the secondworm gear 31.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the cover 12 includes holding portions 62that hold the elastic holding portions 56.

A process of assembling the gear case 11, the cover 12, the motor 13,the deceleration mechanism 14, the plate 16, and the fixing plate 17 inthe electric retracting unit 3 is explained below.

First, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 12, the motor 13 is housed in the motorhousing portion 49. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the gear portion 63 ishoused in the first worm gear housing portion 50, and the shaft portion42 is rotatably supported by the bearing hole 52 in the plate 16. Thegear shaft 28 is inserted into the coupling hole 43, so that the gearshaft 28 is coupled to the gear portion 63. The order of the aboveoperations is not limited. As shown in FIG. 9, the pin 33 is rotatablysupported by the bearing hole 53 in the plate 16, and is inserted intothe fitting hole 44 in the gear portion 63. Consequently, the gearportion 63 is rotatably supported by the plate 16 via the pin 33.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 12, the shaft portions 45 are rotatablysupported by the bearing holes 54 in the elastic plates 51,respectively. At this time, the edges of the bearing holes 54 in theelastic plates 51 come into elastically close contact with the stepportions 46 of the shaft portions 45 in such a manner to sandwich thestep portions from outside. The first worm gear 29 and the helical gear30 are meshed with each other. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 13, themotor 13, the first worm gear 29, the helical gear 30, and the plate 16are sub-assembled.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 13, the shaft portion 48 is inserted intothe coupling hole 47 in the helical gear 30 so that the shaft portion 48is coupled to the helical gear 30 to be movable in the axis directionand not to be freely rotatable. As shown in FIG. 10, the first worm gearhousing portion 50 is housed in the concave portion 40 so that, as shownin FIG. 13, the elastic plates 51 are inserted into the grooves 59.Simultaneously, the spherical projections 67 are thrust-supported by thethrust bearing portions 60, and both ends and the middle portion of thesecond worm gear 31 are radially supported by the radial bearingportions 61.

Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the fixing plate 17 is fixedto the gear case 11 with the screw 34. Whereby, one end and the middleportion of the second worm gear 31 are radially supported by the radialbearing portions 57 and two of the three radial bearing portions 61. Theradial force acting on the shaft portion 48 is suppressed by the radialbearing portions 57 and the radial bearing portions 61. The pin 33 comesinto close contact with the pin retaining portion 58. Thus, the pin 33is prevented from coming off from the plate 16, and the shaft portion 42is prevented from coming off from the bearing hole 52.

Subsequently, the shaft 10 is inserted into the insertion hole 19 in thegear case 11 to be rotatable. The washer 38, the clutch holder 35, theclutch gear 32, the spring 36, and the push nut 37 of the clutchmechanism 15 are assembled to the shaft 10.

Finally, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 13, the cover 12 is fitted and fixedto the outside edge of the opening of the gear case 11, and the holdingportions 62 are made in close contact with the elastic holding portions56. Whereby, the plate 16, to which the first worm gear 29 and thehelical gear 30 are sub-assembled, is elastically held by the gear case11 and the cover 12.

The gear case 11, the cover 12, the motor 13, the deceleration mechanism14, the plate 16, and the fixing plate 17 are assembled as shown inFIGS. 11 and 14, and the shaft holder 9, the shaft 10, and the clutchmechanism 15 are assembled as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, the assembling ofthe electric retracting unit 3 is completed.

The gear case 11 of the electric retracting unit 3 is attached to theattachment bracket 6. The shaft holder 9 is fixed to the base 4. Thus,the assembling of the door mirror device 1 is completed. The door mirrordevices 1 are mounted on the vehicle door by fixing the bases 4 to theright and left sides of the vehicle door.

For actuating the door mirror device 1, first, the motor 13 is driven byoperating a switch (not shown) in the vehicle. The rotational force ofthe motor 13 is transmitted to the clutch gear 32 fixed to the shaft 10via the gear shaft 28 and the deceleration mechanism 14. At this time,because the clutch gear 32 is nonrotatable with respect to the shaft 10,the second worm gear 31 rotates around the clutch gear 32 centering onthe shaft 10. With the rotation of the second worm gear 31, the mirrorassembly 2 with the electric retracting unit 3 built in rotates betweenthe normal position C and the mirror position B centering around theshaft 10 as shown in FIG. 1. When the mirror assembly 2 reaches thenormal position C or the mirror position B, the current flowing into themotor 13 is cut off by a switching operation by the switch circuit (notshown), and the mirror assembly 2 stops at the normal position C or themirror position B.

When a load is applied to the mirror assembly 2 from the front side orthe rear side, the clutch gear 32 rotates against the pressing force ofthe spring 36, and the mesh engagement between the clutch gear 32 andthe clutch holder 35 is released. Whereby, the clutch of the clutchmechanism 15 is released, and the mirror assembly 2 rotates between thenormal position C and the mirror position B, or between the normalposition C and the mirror position A, for absorbing a shock. When themirror assembly 2 is manually rotated from forward or backward, theclutch by the clutch mechanism 15 is released and the mirror assembly 2rotates between the normal position C and the mirror position B, orbetween the normal position C and the mirror position A, in the samemanner as the above.

According to the embodiment, the shaft portions at both ends of thefirst stage gear in the rotational force transmitting mechanism, i.e.,the shaft portion 42 and the pin 33 of the first worm gear 29, aresupported by the bearing holes 52 and 53 in the plate 16 as a singlebearing member, respectively. Thus, the rotational central axis of thefirst worm gear 29 can be properly positioned. Therefore, the axialrunout and the inclination of the first worm gear 29 are reliablyprevented. This reduces an operation noise, resulting in improving acommercial value of the door mirror device 1. In addition, the firststage gear (the first worm gear 29), which is coupled to the gear shaft28 and rotates at high speed, can exhibit improved durability.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment, the shaft portion 42 isinserted into the bearing hole 52 in the plate 16, and the pin 33 isinserted into the bearing hole 53 in the plate 16 and the fitting hole44 in the first worm gear 29. Thus, the shaft portion 42 and the pin 33can be supported by the bearing hole 52 and the bearing hole 53 in theplate 16 as a single bearing member, respectively. Therefore, efficiencyof assembling the first worm gear 29 to the plate 16 is improved.

Moreover, according to the embodiment, the first worm gear 29 isdirectly coupled to the gear shaft 28. Thus, a joint for coupling thefirst worm gear 29 to the motor 13 is not required, which results inreducing the number of parts of the door mirror device 1, therebylowering manufacturing cost of the door mirror device 1.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment, the first worm gear 29 and thehelical gear 30 that meshes with the first worm gear 29 are supported bythe plate 16 as a single bearing member. Thus, the rotational centralaxes of the first worm gear 29 and the helical gear 30 can be properlypositioned, so that the relative positional relationship between therotational central axes of the first worm gear 29 and the helical gear30 can be appropriate. Therefore, the axial runout and the inclinationof the first worm gear 29 and the helical gear 30 are reliablyprevented, and the pitch between axes of the first worm gear 29 and thehelical gear 30 becomes stabilized. This reduces the operation noise,resulting in improving a commercial value of the door mirror device 1.In addition, the first stage gear (the first worm gear 29), which iscoupled to the gear shaft 28 and rotates at high speed, can exhibitimproved durability.

Moreover, according to the embodiment, the motor 13, the first worm gear29, the helical gear 30, and the plate 16 are sub-assembled. Thus,efficiency of assembling the motor 13, the deceleration mechanism 14,and the plate 16 is improved. In addition, efficiency of assembling thesub-assembly in which the motor 13, the first worm gear 29, the helicalgear 30, and the plate 16 are assembled, to other parts such as the gearcase 11, the cover 12, the clutch gear 32, and the clutch mechanism 15,is improved.

Particularly, because the plate 16, which rotatably supports the firstworm gear 29 coupled to the gear shaft 28 and the helical gear 30, andthe fixing plate 17, which suppresses the radial force acting on thesecond worm gear 31 that meshes with the clutch gear 32, are differentmembers, the radial force acting on the second worm gear 31 does notaffect the plate 16. For example, because displacement or deformation ofthe fixing plate 17 due to the radial force acting on the second wormgear 31 is not transmitted to the plate 16, the first worm gear 29 andthe helical gear 30, which are supported by the plate 16, are notaffected. Thus, the first worm gear 29, the helical gear 30, the secondworm gear 31 can rotate smoothly and properly. Consequently, theoperation noise can be reduced, and the strength of the gears does notdecline because the gears mesh with each other properly, therebyimproving the quality and the commercial value of the door mirror device1. In other words, because the gears themselves do not need highstrength, it is possible to lower manufacturing cost of the door mirrordevice, and durability of the gears is increased.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment, because the radial forceacting on the second worm gear 31 does not affect the plate 16, theplate 16 does not need to be fixed to the gear case 11 with a screw orthe like. This results in reducing the number of parts of the doormirror device 1, thereby lowering manufacturing cost of the door mirrordevice 1 and improving efficiency of assembling operation. Moreover, theplate 16 is elastically held by the gear case 11 and the cover 12. Thus,even though the plate 16 is not fixed to the gear case 11, the plate 16does not rattle, and even if the movement of the second worm gear 31 dueto eccentricity of the shaft is transmitted to the helical gear 30, theplate 16 follows the movement of the second worm gear 31. Therefore, thepitch and the mesh engagement between the first worm gear 29 and thehelical gear 30 are not affected by the movement of the second worm gear31.

Moreover, according to the embodiment, because the fixing plate 17 andthe plate 16 are formed with separate members, the fixing plate 17 canbe a small fixing plate simply having a size sufficient for suppressingthe radial force acting on the second worm gear 31. In this case, noparticular problem is caused by providing the fixing plate 17 and theplate 16 as separate members.

In the embodiment described above, the present invention is applied tothe electric retractable door mirror device. However, the presentinvention can be applied to other vehicle mirror devices includingvehicle outside mirror devices such as a vehicle fender mirror.

Although the invention has been described with respect to specificembodiments for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims arenot to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying allmodifications and alternative constructions that may occur to oneskilled in the art that fairly fall within the basic teaching herein setforth.

1. An outside mirror device for a vehicle, the outside mirror deviceincluding a mirror assembly that is rotatably attached to a body of thevehicle through an electric retracting unit and a base, wherein theelectric retracting unit includes a shaft holder that is fixed to thebase, a shaft that is provided on the shaft holder, a casing to whichthe mirror assembly is attached, the casing rotatably attached to theshaft, a motor that outputs a rotational force, a rotational forcetransmitting mechanism that transmits the rotational force to the mirrorassembly, and a bearing member that rotatably supports a first stagegear of the rotational force transmitting mechanism coupled to a shaftof the motor, the first stage gear includes a gear portion having afitting hole at a first end thereof, a pin that is fitted into thefitting hole, and a shaft portion provided at a second end of the gearportion, the bearing member includes bearing holes that support theshaft portion and the pin, respectively, and the casing includes a pinretaining portion that prevents the pin from coming off.
 2. The outsidemirror device according to claim 1, wherein the first stage gear isdirectly coupled to the shaft of the motor.
 3. The outside mirror deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the rotational force transmittingmechanism includes the first stage gear and a second stage gear thatmeshes with the first stage gear, the second stage gear includes shaftportions at both ends, the bearing member includes elastic plates havingbearing holes, respectively, and the shaft portions of the second stagegear are rotatably supported by the bearing holes of the elastic plates,respectively.
 4. The outside mirror device according to claim 3, whereinthe motor, the gear portion and the pin of the first stage gear, thesecond stage gear and the bearing member are sub-assembled.